


Discovery

by megsjedi



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, Multi, Original Character - Freeform, Sentinels are Known, Threesome, slight D/s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2017-12-24 14:37:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/941151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megsjedi/pseuds/megsjedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sentinels and Guides have been accepted by society, but what will happen when Jim and Blair meet a young man from New Orleans and a new kind of bonding is discovered? Is it really new, or something old come back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From The Big Easy

Jim Ellison was feeling edgy, and he didn’t like it. He made it known that he wasn’t in a good mood, and people in the bullpen at Cascade’s Major Crimes unit were stepping softly. People usually stepped softly in Ellison’s presence anyway. No one wanted to get on the bad side of the Sentinel Prime of the Northwest Territories.

Caroline Plummer, Jim’s ex-wife, crossed the room, dressed to the nines in business suit…

Ellison snarled, making everyone jump. He stood up and stalked up to the woman he’d stopped loving a long time ago. “Carolyn! What the _hell_ were you thinking when you fucking got dressed this morning?”

“I don’t…” Caroline stammered, eyes going wide and innocent.

Sneeze! “Save it! You know that you’re not supposed to wear perfume here!” Jim took the woman’s arm and shook her. “You know it, Caroline!” Sneeze.

_“Plummer!”_ Captain Simon Banks bellowed as he entered the room. “This is the last straw, dammit! You’ve been conveniently ‘forgetting’ little details for the last few years. I can only conclude that you mean deliberate harm against Jim. Little things, yes, but they’re always things that make Jim sick! You’re fired!”

“I’ll have your job, Banks!” Caroline shrieked, throwing the handful of case files she held to the floor. “You forget, I have powerful friends! The mayor’s wife, the governor’s daughter…”

_Both of them women attached to men that Ellison’s father can buy and sell_ , Simon thought, then said “Get out, or I’ll have you _thrown_ out!”

Caroline’s mouth snapped shut, then she smiled smugly before turning to leave, eyes malicious. Simon looked to his detective and groaned. Jim was just standing there, frozen, obviously zoned-out, probably because of the perfume.

There was a thud in the corridor, followed by an indignant yelp and a flood of promised retribution. Both went unacknowledged as Blair Sandburg all but ran into the room. Sandburg plastered his body against Jim’s, speaking softly and rubbing his back, breathing into his mouth with a puff, drawing his head down to rest on his shoulder.

It still astonished every cop in the precinct that Jim, a large, tall and heavily muscled man and former Army Ranger had a Guide like Blair, five feet five inches tall and a neo-hippie from his long hair to his organic material shoes. The two of them meshed flawlessly and worked together as one unit. As it should be.

The majority of the officers in Major Crimes liked and respected Blair. The kid was polite, courteous and very kind.

Jim shook off the zone-out and hugged his Guide to him, deeply scenting at his neck to chase the smell of Caroline’s perfume away. “Damn bitch did it again!” he complained, petting his Guide.

“Not anymore.” Blair sounded as satisfied as a cat in cream. “Simon just fired her ass.”

Jim felt elated; Christmas had come early! “Boss, you’re getting a Ferrari for your birthday.” Simon chuckled but shook his head.

“No need, Jim. Her work has been going downhill steadily, all I needed was an excuse. Her little digs at you nailed the top on her coffin.”

“Her jealousy and obsession were getting old.” Blair said, a finger drawing circles in Jim’s hand. Jim had to agree there.

“It’s a relief to know that she won’t be here to harass my Guide anymore.” Fierce feelings stirred in his chest as his body took on the posture of “MINE!” It did that anytime he felt the need to display it. Blair Sandburg was his, as he was Blair’s.

Their loving relationship made Jim feel like a teenager again, as it was deep and sensual but also somehow absolutely pure and clean. And very joyful as well. At long last, Blair was completely healed from the emotional neglect of his absent father and a mother that always put her Causes before him, leaving him to get through on his own, coping with empathic talent and taking on higher learning while still a teenager. The burden of it all sent Sandburg into a downward spiral. Then Jim met the kid and they came together like two old souls returning home.

That freaked out Jim’s boss, his fellow cops, and his ex-wife. For a time, they had to be very, very careful because Blair was still under eighteen. Working hard, Jim and Blair had worked together, along with members of their Sentinel and Guide family, their Clan, to promote understanding and tolerance of S&G partners and their work.

The phenomenon first discovered by Richard Burton (the scientist, not the actor) was released to the public, and more Sentinel-Guide pairs came forward. Many of them were with the military, police or in the medical profession, and were happy to not hide anymore.

As usual, what people didn’t understand, they feared. John Q. Public was at first convinced that these “Supermen” and “Superwomen” were intent on taking over society. With suspicions running rampant, Burton’s book was re-published and widely distributed, and scholars made it their business to hold public seminars explaining the truth about Sentinels: while they were good territorial guardians, they would be terrible in political roles, simply because if one hurt the Guide, the Sentinel was incapacitated.

There was an organization in place now, the Coalition, which supplied training for Sentinels and Guides in the same facilities, encouraged them to mingle while under the eyes of long-standing Sentinel-Guide pairs, and all of it overseen by the Senior Prime of each geographical Territory. No outside entity was allowed to interfere with the training of these outstanding individuals. Given self-autonomy, the community flourished.

An S&G pair could pick and choose their professions by that time, and were in all walks of life. All of these changes had occurred within five years of when Sentinel Prime Ellison and Guide Prime Sandburg had met and bonded, and while some people were still reeling, most were content with the regime. The times might not be perfect, but they were getting better. Jim might have had a bad morning, but everything was better with Blair at his side.

 

XXX

Later, at home, Blair prepared a cup of his favorite tea while Jim changed his clothes upstairs. “Is it just me, or is there something in the air today?” he asked.

“It’s not just you, Chief.” Jim replied. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for a shoe to drop all day. Or maybe Caroline was the first shoe, and I’m waiting for the other one.”

“It’s about time that fucking bitch got tossed out. She’s been seriously uncool these past few months, man.” Blair didn’t usually swear, but it felt justified right then. He sipped his tea, trying to put his feeling into words. “There is something. Like an incredible, life-changing event is hovering…”

“Wish it’d just stop hovering and drop already.”

Someone should have reminded him that you need to be careful with what you wish for.

There came a knock at the door, and an electric tension filled the air. Jim was up and at the door before more than a few heartbeats had passed, with Blair hanging back behind him. The sentinel sniffed the air, and shuddered. “Smells like… sugar and allspice… electricity, summer rain, clean skin…”

Blair put his hand on his partner’s shoulder. “Easy, love, pick up something else, turn smell down.”

“Heartbeat… I can feel his heartbeat through the floor, hear it in my ears…” Blair connected their senses and emotions. He gasped, steadying himself with hard-won control. It felt like both he and Jim were falling, rushing toward whoever was on the other side of the door. Blair hit Ellison with a hard “jolt” that pulled both of them back.

Jim unlocked the door. “We have to let him in, Chief.” Blair could only nod. The sheer urgency was too much.

The door opened… _Oh dear god thank you for this perfect moment and this perfect vision…_

A young man stood there, poised in the act of knocking again; he snatched his hand back, cheeks pinking. He was around eighteen or nineteen years old, 5’6’’, slim but well-formed.

His eyes were so deep that they were more violet than blue. He was dressed in sneakers, faded blue jeans, and a dark flannel long-sleeved shirt. His most incredible trait was easily his hair: white-blond and plaited into a braid that dropped below his knees. Blair bet that it would brush the floor when undone.

The young man just stood there, eyes glassy while Jim and Blair stood there, entranced by the sight of him. “I…” His voice was pure music. “I… I’m Danny Deveraux, I just finished moving into the apartment under this one.” He had a light Southern accent with velvet blur around the edges of it. “I’m… sorry to intrude, but my feet just brought me here without me having a say in it.”

“Come in,” Blair said as Jim held out an inviting hand. Far too trusting to enter a strange apartment with two larger men, Danny entered without hesitating, ignoring it when the door closed and got locked again.

“Sentinel Prime James Ellison.” Jim crossed his hands over his chest.

“Guide Prime Blair Sandburg.” Blair copied the gesture.

Uncertainly, Danny made the same gesture, and bowed slightly. This was all terribly formal; to Blair, it felt right. “I’m just a kid from New Orleans, I moved out here to enroll in Rainier, it’s got a better Anthro department than my old school…”

“You’re studying Anthropology?” Now Jim was doubting, suspicious. Rainier University, Blair’s school, and Anthropology, Blair’s major.

Danny smiled charmingly, a smile that could light up any room. “Of a peculiar sort. I had to talk fast and promise some grant money, but I got the degree board to acknowledge that my idea is a valid study. I’m applying anthropological development theory to the largest experiment in anarchy in history: the Internet.”

Blair was stunned. “Oh my god, you’re _that_ Danny Deveraux? The Big Easy’s wunderkind of computer programming?” The kid blushed and nodded. “No wonder you could bribe the degree committee, you can afford it, with all the software you’ve written! Jim! This kid graduated high school at twelve and already has two MAs in Computer Sciences, Programming and Networking, aw man, this is amazing!” Blair bounced on his toes. “I had no idea you were interested in Anthropology!”

Blair could see Jim relax and reach to shake Danny’s hand.

_“No, don’t!”_ The kid yelped and jerked himself backward so violently that he tripped over his feet and landed on his ass, desperately scrambling backwards until he hit the wall. His expression said that he was shocked to have done so.

“What…?” Blair said softly, his heart going out to the kid as he huddled against the wall, hands up in a defensive posture. “What’s wrong, _lurach gille?_ What’s wrong with letting my Sentinel touch you?”

“What was that?” Jim murmured. “Beautiful boy, approximately. My Gaelic isn’t all that great.” He answered, sentinel-hearing-soft.

“Are you an empath?” Jim inquired. Danny shook his head. “Not… exactly. At least, I didn’t test in the visible range.” He looked uncertain and frightened, and Sandburg had a feeling that neither emotion was frequent for him.

“Jim, hang back. If he’s latent and had a sudden jump in empathic ability, you could hurt him.”

Obligingly, Ellison moved to the other side of the room. “Explains why he’s drawn to us like a kid to candy.” Jim remarked.

“They could never figure out what I am, and they did a lot of testing. Nothing was conclusive. Several scientific entities wanted to haul me in for lab testing, which was when my grandparents flexed their muscles, so to speak, and hemmed the assholes with so many lawsuits for harassment that they gave up. Gran and Gramps are the leaders of a Mardi Gras Crewe. Old school gentility with a lot of clout.”

“May I touch you?” General manners between Guides and others: if anyone except the Sentinel wished to touch the Guide, or vice versa, permission was asked first. Sometimes a casual touch could cause an empath terrible pain from others’ emotions being jammed into them if they weren’t prepared.

Danny bit his lower lip, and nodded slowly, reaching out with an open hand.

When their skin touched, the effect was immediate and startling. Danny’s eyes rolled back, and he crumpled like a marionette with cut strings. Jim caught him and knelt, holding the kid’s back to his chest and Blair was aware that Jim was present in the link between himself and the kid.

There was so much information rushing through him! Danny’s mind was a thing of pure crystalline elegance and beauty. It was a city with soaring towers and ringing bells, a mix of old world with modern day architecture here and there. At the top of the tallest tower a stylized bird was carved into bas-relief, caught forever in mid-flight.

Blair withdrew himself from the inadvertent “peek” inside Danny’s head, and found the kid’s psyche floating in the link with him.

Thoughts and images swirled between them, words, concepts, pictures, even pure emotion.

Then Jim was very close and the three of them blended…

_::incredible… can we… we can… *longing/acceptance/need/want* sure?... yes… YES::_

 

XXX

Jim came to while kissing someone; a slim, soft, pliant body was in his arms, crushed to his chest and strong legs wrapped around his waist tightly. His sense of smell was full of sugar and allspice, clean skin, summer sun…

The sensuous lips under his own parted, allowing him to taste coffee and chocolate. Cloth ripped and was cast away, heavy breathing at his lips, lowered his head to scent at the neck and shoulder, fingers stroking silky skin…

“God, you’re beautiful,” Blair whispered. Jim leaned back and opened his eyes. Danny looked back at him, lips puffy and kiss-bruised, hair mussed, hazy-mazy-passion heavy in his eyes. Blair stood close behind Danny, hands gripping his hips tightly. The hot body held between them moved, arcing forward, then backwards, the contact causing a chorus of moans and sighs.

_::Heat… skin… touch… please::_

“In time, angel, in time,” Jim chuckled, hands palming that luscious ass.

“Beautiful, beautiful boy,” Blair murmured, licking a long, wet stripe along Danny’s spine. They were rewarded with a sound of wordless begging; the sound so sinful it should have been bottled and sold as an aphrodisiac.

“Want you both so bad…”

“Both at once?” Jim felt obligated to ask. If everything got lost in the moment and such a position was initiated without asking, it could cause irreparable damage and distrust would take the angel in his arms away.

Danny’s forehead rested on Jim’s shoulder for a moment. “I don’t know if I can… I’ve never tried it…”

“Then we don’t.” Blair said with authority. “Not until you feel confident that you really want to try.” “I agree.” Jim said immediately.

Danny tilted his head back and turned until he met Blair’s eyes. Smiling, the Guide swooped in for a kiss of his own. Lips met, tongues wrestled, teeth clashed, and Jim watched, more aroused by the moment. Watching Blair kiss someone… well, Jim knew he would have hated, just plain loathed, the sight of it…

Except it was _Danny_ getting kissed by Blair and it was hot. It was frightening, the fact that this kid had entered their lives literally minutes ago, but Jim could not imagine a future without him now. He made himself let go of the fear, it had no place in this.

“Bed. No clothes. _Fuck._ ”

Those three words moaned by Danny got them upstairs to the loft in record time.

 

XXX

In all his short life, Danny had never been so caught up by yearning, drowning in need, and burning to ashes in pure passion.

And he wanted it, all of it, maybe even hoped he die of it because he’d never be able to live without it.

He referred to himself as “just a kid from New Orleans” because he didn’t want to be considered as “more” than other people. More intelligent, and somehow better because of that intelligence. Sure, he had a 190 IQ, college degrees, a near-perfect memory and was able to read over twenty-two thousand words a minute. That was all something genetic, pre-programmed into him; it would all have been more impressive if he’d worked for those distinctions, but he hadn’t, it all came to him as easily as breathing.

At least his memory wasn’t completely perfect; there were things he could mostly forget or set aside to the back of his mind. People with eidetic memory couldn’t forget anything, ever.

Danny had the luxury of not remembering some of the things that been inflicted on him by jealous or resentful classmates. The constant poking and prodding of doctors, shrinks and biologists over a two-year period, the search to find that illusive something inside his brain that might classify him as an empath, efforts to define what they couldn’t understand about him… those memories lurked uncomfortably.

So much of his life spent in isolation, with only the Netizens for friendship, programming rudimentary artificial intelligences to talk to and learning self-defense from his Marine uncle so he could get adequate exercise and defend himself from playground bullies.

Most of the bullies left him alone anyway. He did a brisk business in selling book reports, research papers and made quick correction on various homework assignments. He didn’t just hand over papers and homework either; he spent a brief time with each customer, grilling them with basic information so they could talk about their subjects without referring to the finished works constantly, a dead giveaway (not to mention his customers would _learn something_ whether they intended to or not) .

The only thing he would _not_ supply was cheat sheets for mid-terms and finals, which gave him a lot of tutoring money to play with. So, if bullies went for him, they found themselves screwed when they need a grade boost.

“Nerd, geek, dork” were only words. A lot of things hurt more than words. Especially that his parents had died when he was five years old, leaving his grandparents with a little boy who constantly confused and perplexed them. His aunts and uncles were his primary caregivers, although he could confuse them as well.

But with one fell swoop over a few weeks, Danny disconnected from New Orleans, his old life and, as much he loved them all, his family, taking a chance on the feeling that scratched in his chest, that there was somewhere he _had_ to go, and nothing was more important. Driving all the way across the country from the Southeast to the Northwest, he followed that feeling relentlessly until he found the place he had to be, and the people he needed to be with.

Danny was brought out of reverie by two sets of hands roaming his bare body, a worker’s hands and a scholar’s hands. Trails of fire ignited on his skin, leaving him sweating and twisting in the sheets. He didn’t want to say what he had to, it was embarrassing and he’d chosen to live with it rather than accept unemotional ties…

“I’m a virgin.” Danny gasped, swearing in French when Jim and Blair slowed their hands.

“Honestly?” Jim asked, and why was it such a surprise?

“No one ever wanted you? That’s a crime.” Blair muttered.

“Oh, many a boy or girl wanted me,” Danny sighed, “but they only wanted, lusted, they didn’t _see_ me. A roll in the hay, a toy, something to use and discard. That’s not love, it’s possession. I never wanted to be someone’s possession."

“We see you,” Blair smiled, pressing his fingers into Danny’s mouth. He sucked on each one while Jim massaged his sides. “We can see what others don’t, beautiful boy. You are gorgeous inside and out. You’re a work of art, a treasure.”

“We will treasure you,” Jim murmured into his ear before worrying at the earlobe.

Danny had never known anything like what he was feeling; the sense of his mind wrapping around his partners and theirs around his, warmth and security were his now, a place to belong was _here_ , and he welcomed it without reservation or hesitation.

Blair’s fingers nudged at Danny’s ass, dripping wet and circling until the index entered his body. _OW!_ It stung and pulled at his skin. Now he wasn’t certain anymore for a few seconds before he was embraced, mind and body, and the pain vanished, replaced by a pressure that wasn’t unpleasant at all.

Jim’s mouth claimed his while Blair diligently worked at the other end, adding slick and warmed lubricant to the fingers working him open. Another finger was added, then a third wriggled inside, stretching the narrow opening, relentlessly pressing in…

Something deep inside Danny’s body was brushed, and he half-screamed as heat lightning flashed in him, spiraling outward from that incredible spot. So that was the ‘magic spot’ that others described. Danny wanted more, pressing himself back against those questing fingers, crying out as Blair hit it again and again and again…

The fingers were gone, and replaced by a blunt, slicked cock. “Me first?” Blair begged. “Fuck yeah,” Danny moaned. Jim pulled his body close, hands behind his knees, spreading him wide open. It was a vulnerable position, and Danny had never felt more safe.

Slowly, Blair entered his body, and it wasn’t painful, just a new sensation that was amazing. Blair slid all the way in, buried himself, then drew back out and re-entered, all with agonizing slowness.

Danny wanted more and tried to take it, but Jim pinned his arms while Blair took over spreading his legs. Again, he should have been scared; Danny normally hated being restrained, but this was far from a normal situation. Safe, he was _safe_ here, if he said ‘stop’ or ‘no’ the word would be obeyed at once, there wasn’t anything to be scared of.

They were controlling him, not hurting him, and being controlled felt… …kinky. The men who were so expertly igniting his very core were mastering him, finding his pleasures and exposing them, searched for his sexual responses and played his body like an instrument…

And he was _singing_. Not aloud, but in his mind and heart and soul, a song that pulsed in time to Blair’s thrusting and Jim’s soft kisses and licks to his neck and cheek. Danny imagined there was a volume button and turned it up.

Jim’s teeth scraped over the places kissed before; Blair’s thrusting sped up. Danny writhed between them, his aching cock painfully erect as the pleasure built…

A full-throated scream escaped when Blair’s thrusting cock hit the same bundle of throbbing nerves deep inside.

“You make the most wonderful noise,” Blair purred, lifting Danny’s body higher as he sat back on his heels, going deeper and harder. Danny was too busy vocalizing his pleasure to find words to say. Deeper and hotter and heat, _fire,_  building and building in his stomach…

Blair pulled out suddenly, and Danny eyes flew open in shock and disbelief. Blair wrapped his cock in his hand and stroked, body rigid as ropy strings of semen splashed over Danny’s ass.

“What the fuck, Blair. Why did you stop, why did you do that?” he protested loudly, left empty and untouched and straining.

Blair smiled, a dark and satisfied smile. “You’re not done yet, beautiful boy. Not even close.”

Danny _squeaked_ when Jim’s broad, strong hands clamped down on his hips and pulled him backward, arranging him on his hands and knees before he was sure what was happening.

The Sentinel inhaled scent from Danny’s neck, took a bite at his shoulder, a taste of his skin, hands all over him. Danny twisted and looked up at Jim, and those ice-colored eyes consumed him. _Touch, taste, smell, sight_ … Jim’s head lowered to rest over Danny’s heart. _He’s listening to my heartbeat…_

“That’s right, beautiful boy, he’s burning you into his mind, imprinting, like he did with me.” Blair kissed him delicately. “I can sense you deeper than before, this is fascinating…”

But Jim was taking so long and the heat that had accumulated faded back into embers. Danny sobbed tearlessly, body shaking hard enough to fly apart. Jim unfolded and covered his body, carelessly draping. “Please!” Danny cried out, voice and mind.

Jim’s hands grabbed his hips again and yanked him back, impaling his ass with his huge cock, letting out a growl of possession. The programmer lost all of his breath, lungs heaving to get some back as Jim began to pound inside him mercilessly, the angle too shallow to induce much pleasure. Danny arched, twisted, pushed, but couldn’t budge the large man or change his position. Enough friction was being generated to stoke the fires, but it wasn’t enough, it still _wasn’t enough._

Something insistent was pressing at his mind, needing permission, waiting for the sign… Danny gasped when he realized that he was still holding up walls, barriers. If he truly wanted the joining, he had to let go and give in to him, to them.

Did he want them?

_Yes, oh god PLEASE yes!_

Danny stopped moving, stopped fighting, and was still and silent as the last barriers crumbled and fell.

_Mine._

_And mine…_

_AND MINE!_

Jim pulled away, kneeling. Danny stayed where he was for a minute or two, savoring the “taste” of the fledgling connection that was almost complete. Almost there…

Danny shuffled on hands and knees until his ass was at Jim’s knees. He let his head hang, easing the tension in his shoulders, his breathing slow… “Finish it, Sentinel.” The words fell from his lips, a ritual long forgotten and about to be found. “Sentinel and Guide are one; the Bard awaits you to make it three. The Triad will be forged in my body.”

“Three in one.” Jim and Blair said together as a benediction.

Jim sat Danny in his lap, arranging his legs over his thighs, and took his wrists in one hand. Danny’s hands were pulled up and back behind his head. This was the most vulnerable position yet. His legs were splayed out wide, hands immobile, utterly exposed to the man watching them. No doubt lingered, only the ache of rising excitement.

Jim’s free hand pulled Danny up and held him over that long, thick cock. Danny closed his eyes and recalled the song, letting it ring through his thoughts, He turned it up loud. _Wagner loud_.

Jim entered Danny in one sharp motion, all the way to the hilt. That warranted a sharp cry; _fuck_ , he felt like that one had ripped him apart and the tip of Jim's dick was lodged somewhere in his throat. Jim showed no mercy, fucking him deep and fast.

Danny’s repeated screams of ecstasy were interrupted when Blair kissed him, shoving his tongue down his throat , licking deeply in time to Jim’s rhythmic thrusting. The music spiraled through them, louder and louder. He was getting fucked front and back, Blair’s tongue in his mouth and Jim's rigid and rock hard cock in his ass.

_No control, can’t do anything except let it happen…_

“Let go!” Jim commanded.

“Cum for us!” Blair said in the same tone of command.

_Let go…_

Blair pinched his nipples hard and Jim slammed into him…

Danny let go.

Deep, deep in his heart, something snapped, breaking the dammed-up blockage that inhibited him. Pure pleasure, pure power filled all three of them to the brim, shining and golden. Jim’s cock pulsed and filled him, splashing through his insides and warming him.

Fireworks exploded behind his eyes as he lost count of how many times his pleasure peaked and sent him flying. After his body settled, Danny laughed raggedly. “Oh my fucking god,” he gasped, going lax with satisfaction. “That was a first time for the record books!”

At first, it was barely noticeable. He would have missed it, except it got stronger. There were two bright lights in his mind, and if he concentrated on them, he picked up words. Concepts, texture, and color shaded each set of thoughts.

Danny rubbed his head, and spoke silently, inside his mind.

_Jim? Blair?_

“Yeah?” they both said at once as they fussed over him, cleaning him up.

_Did you notice that I didn’t say that out loud_?

His lovers- lovers! What an _incredible_ thing! –stopped dead in surprise.

“Holy crap! That’s your talent! Danny, you’re a telepath!”

“And telepathy is one of those very rare talents.” Danny beamed.

“You can talk in our heads and read our minds.” Jim didn’t sound happy, but neither did he get growly.

“It probably won’t be long before Blair can help me get shields up and in place. Then I’ll only do it when I want to, and not by accident.”

“It’s no wonder you drove the scientists crazy. The two abilities are close in nature,” Blair said. “But so different at the same time that it threw their readings to the wind. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch!” Blair barked out a sarcastic laugh, and Danny laughed too.

“I take it that people who test kids for empathic ability aren’t very nice.” Jim said drily.

“ _They’re obnoxious!”_ Danny burst out.“Tell him, Blair!”

“They _are_ rather demanding-“

“-the pushy little assholes.”

“Shush, Danny. Well, Jim, once someone’s been identified as an empath, the scientists descend, doing brain scans and drawing blood as fast as they can before a mentor can get there to remove the empath from the lab.”

“There was no mentor for me, just confusion and more scans and more blood tests until I felt anemic. Gran and Gramps had to get cops to escort me out.”

“I’m on Danny’s side. They’re assholes.” Jim declared.

“At least empathic ability is common enough that many of us opt for Guide training and attach ourselves to a Sentinel. I shudder to think of what could happen if the talent stopped showing so often.”

“The Powers That Be would probably just test ‘em, then take ‘em, not giving ‘em any damn choice, and they'd end up tossed at a Sentinel as soon as training was completed.” Danny knew he could be a pessimist. 

"Well, they can’t exactly do that,” Jim said thoughtfully. “This _is_ America. And Guides and Sentinels don’t just make instant connections. The bonding takes time and shared experience before it settles in.”

“Not today,” Danny pointed out, passively allowing Jim and Blair to dress him in a t-shirt that he could have gotten lost in and said POLICE across the front.

“This is new.” Blair said insistently. “Or rather, a thing that got lost in history and is new now. There are parts of Burton’s dissertation that have made no sense to me or anyone else. Time to go back over it.”

“Tomorrow…” Danny yawned widely. He fell asleep the moment he shut his eyes.

 

XXX

Blair ordered takeout while Jim kept fussing over their new lover. It was classic Mother Hen behavior, so very typical of a Sentinel.

Blair loaded two plates and went up to the loft, passing Jim his share before taking a seat on the side of the bed.

Danny had curled up on his side and into a small ball, burrowed in under the blankets. A compact sleeper, nice. Obviously a deep sleeper too, or maybe that was just for now. The bulk of energy and effort for the new bond _had_ come from him.

_Not to mention, he got rode very hard today._ Blair giggled to himself. He had to have a high pain threshold, or had been so spellbound in the heat of sex that he’d not felt any pain, Blair ruminated.

“You’re thinking too hard, Chief,” Jim said gruffly, twitching the blankets slightly so they could see a bit of Danny’s face. “You know, sometimes I hate it when the mystical mumbo-jumbo keeps dropping these unexpected things on us.”

Blair made a non-committal noise, his eyes feasting on the sight of their beautiful boy. “He’s ours now, Jim. Would you send him away?”

“If I had the choice…” Jim sighed and shook his head. “No. I’d want him even without the mystical push.”

“Me too… I can feel it so clearly; Danny _needs_ us, and we need him too. We might not know the reasons yet, but we both know that this was one of those things destined to happen. Just like you and me were destined to meet. And besides that… I think we’re both already in love with him.” “

"Yeah. And that’s _scary,_ Chief. Awesome, but scary.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Settling In

Danny woke up all at once, lying very still, trying to remember why he wasn’t in his own bed. He moved and everything from mid-back to knees seized up and cramped. That brought every memory from last night back in a rush. “Oooooooooooh… ok, morning after kinda sucks…”

“It’s five minutes after one. That’s PM.”

Danny shifted his eyes to Blair, who was sitting at the bottom of the bed. A warm flutter in his mind made him grin. _You are an awesome guy, Blair Sandburg._

“Thanks. You’re pretty awesome yourself. Jim is at work, I’m on break from school. Thought I’d stay here with you. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

Danny held out his arms and made a puppy-dog look. “Hug me.”

“Oh my god you’re so cute!” Blair giggled, climbing up the bed to embrace Danny. In short order, they were curled up together, Blair spooning Danny.

“I ache,” Danny complained.

Blair’s arms cinched around his waist. “Well, with two heavy sex sessions, one right after the other, it’s no surprise. ‘Specially since Jim is hung like a Clydesdale. _And_ you lost your virginity to boot. I don’t think you’ll wake up with this much pain again, though.”

“Think I’ll take up stretching regularly, two or three times a day. A little preparation is good prevention.” Danny rested his arms over Blair’s. “Blair? I’m _stoked_ that you’re my first. You were… _fantastic._ Mind-blowing. You were doing me and it was like you were _born_ to fit into me. You did me so good I forgot my _name._ ”

Blair’s arms tightened and Danny realized that a serious boner was pressed against him. “You’re making me horny, beautiful. Wanna go get in the tub? It’ll ease your muscles, and… other things. I want my hands all over you, be in you, deep in you and cum inside you and make you scream; you’re a screamer and I love it, please let me make you scream my name…”

“Yes.”

XXX

Jim was stuck on a stakeout and not very happy about it. He wished he could be home with his mates (Mates! Two of them!), relaxing in bed with them, talking about various important things like maybe buying out of their leases and moving to a bigger place that had a bigger bedroom and a Jacuzzi.

Rafe was posing as a homeless guy sleeping on a bench, and boy it’d been difficult to get him into a bum’s clothes! Mr. GQ forced to wear rags. The noise of all the camera phone buttons getting clicked was probably heard in Alaska.

Jim scowled and spoke harshly into the radio unit clipped to his ear. “Rafe!”

“Uh! Um, jeeze, what?” Rafe grouched.

“You were snoring again.”

“I’m bored!”

“You’ll be a lot more than bored if we lose our target.”

“Oh! Um. Right.”

Jim clicked the headset off and sat back, senses settled and calm. He might get mad but that day he couldn’t _stay_ mad, not for long. Not when he could see Danny in his mind’s eye, legs wide open and wriggling in his arms, panting and screaming while Blair fucked him senseless.

Could almost _feel_ being inside him, filling him up, releasing so hard that the edges of his vision turned gray and spotty.

Oh, yes, he wanted to be _home_.

XXX

Blair observed Danny’s body as he sank into the hot water in the tub, his stomach and sides bearing scratches, Jim-sized handprints bruised into his hips, and marked with countless love bites. The effect on the young Bard was immediate and encouraging. His face was less tense, his hands stopped clenching, his eyes cleared.

“Ooooooooooh yeah, that’s the ticket, Blair,” Danny purred, and momentarily sank beneath the surface of the water. Blair’s mouth watered as his little paramour came back up, rivulets of moisture trailing down his body enticingly. Deftly, Danny started unraveling his braid, making quick work of it. Beads of steam gathered in a light haze on his fingers.

Inspiration struck, and Blair told Danny he’d be right back. He returned with an armload of tea light candles and set them over every stable surface in the bathroom, lighting them barbecue lighter so he wouldn’t burn his fingertips.

Once they were all lit, Blair turned the overhead light off. Anticipation shivered through him as he gazed at Danny. Unbelievably, he was _more_ beautiful in candlelight, a warm and glowing creature of sensual grace.

“Jim’s right, you _are_ an angel,” Blair breathed out the words, and took his shirt off and sat by the tub.

“I’m anything _but_ an angel, sugar,” Danny drawled. The swirls of his hair in the water were liquid gold, darkened by the wet. “I’m a Southern Cajun bundle of fire and I’ll never be anything else.”

“I wouldn’t want you to be.”

Blair picked up his bottle of shampoo and started working it into Danny’s hair bit by bit until the entire length was lathered thickly. It took a _lot_ of rinsing before it was squeaky-clean, and Blair had to drain the tub and fill it again to banish the suds.

The steamy air and flickering candles, so langorous and warm and thick…

XXX

Jim stretched and yawned and took long drink from his thermos, which was filled with a tasty liquid that was caffeine and sugar for Sentinels. He didn’t know what was in it, but it had the Sandburg seal of approval, and it worked, so he didn’t sweat it.

At least the sun was shining that day. Since it was overcast for seventy percent of the year, it was a real treat. Now, if he were driving up to the mountain cabin with Blair and Danny with him, it’d be the best day ever.

XXX

Danny’s mischievous smile was delightful to Blair, and he grinned back as Danny poured a stream of bubble bath into the running water. In seconds it foamed up and surrounded the golden beauty in a wreath of froth.

“Come wash my back, sugar?” Danny’s eyes gleamed as he placed the tip of his index finger in his mouth and closed his mouth around it, making Blair’s cock twitch in his pants violently. He draped the clean length of Danny’s hair over the side of the tub, stood up to shuck off pants and underwear and slipped into the tub. He sat up at the back of the tub and Danny straddled his thighs.

“Comfy?” Blair asked, snatching a clean loufa and dunked it into the sudsy water, working lather up.

“Mm-hm,” was the lazy reply.  
  
Blair started at the hands, rubbing the loufa hard enough to remove dirt, trailing touches over the fingertips and palms. “That’s quite a set of callouses you’ve got there. How many different instruments can you play?”

“Guitar, bass, rhythm acoustic and electric. Drums. Piano. Pipes. Flute. Name it, I’ve probably picked it up and tried it.” Danny picked another loufa and returned the favor. “Academics… that’s for my mind, but my soul belongs to Lady Melody.”

“Did you ever think about music for a career?”

“For five minutes. It wouldn’t be too fair to the ones who put their entire being into music, pick up an instrument slowly learn how to play it, practice for hours a day every day over a lot of years, write songs and record them, pour blood sweat and tears into their craft.

“Me? Within a week or two, I’m competent. In a few months, I’ve got it down pat. I can take mathematical formula and write a nicely structured song, take suitable words and make lyrics, I can even breathe life into it. But it’s just not the same as _working_ for it.

“Sometimes I feel like an academic cheat too. I read, I recall it, I understand it, I don’t have to study.”

“Hold on right there, beautiful.” Blair said sternly. They were washing each other’s arms by then. “Maybe those things can come easily, but it’s _your_ spark, your creativity and drive and imagination that brings the programming to life. That’s a music that’s yours; you create _symphonies_. Your theories are your brainchildren, and it all comes from _you._ ”

“You know just the right words to say.”

Comfortable silence descended as the washing continued.

XXX

Jim was beginning to want a nice long shower, or a relaxing bath, something to get the sweat off his skin and the smell of the city out of his nose.

“How come Hair Boy isn’t with you today, Ellison?” Rafe asked.

“I never zone on a stakeout, there’s too much going on for me to get frozen on one sense. Blair wanted to stay home; we have a new neighbor, his name’s Danny Deveraux.”

 _“Danny Deveraux?_ From New Orleans?”

“That’s the one.” Maybe everyone in the world had heard of him first. Jim had a hard time with simple pre-texted templates. Computers were not his thing.

“Wow. I wonder if he’d show me a few things about programming shortcuts so I can handle my own computer upkeep. It costs a lot take it into a shop.”

“I’ll give him your number.”

“Man, if you and Hair Boy weren’t a solid mated pair, the Wizard of Bourbon Street would steal him, I bet.”

… _pumping into that tight ass while listening to slutty little moans…_

He pushed the memory away. “Not gonna happen, Rafe.”

XXX

Blair rubbed his hands up and down Danny’s back, and the blond did the same for him as they exchanged kisses. Their lower bodies were still under water, but Danny’s hips were inching closer. When their bodies were pressed together, Danny took up the loufa once more, diligently scrubbing Blair’s back.

Blair smiled against Danny’s mouth. “Promised I’d wash your back, I remember.”

Danny made a sound of contentment as Blair scrubbed his back. “Can I get the soap now?” Blair asked lewdly.

“It took you _forever_ to ask, sugar.”

Blair grabbed the bar of soap and got his hands covered in the slippery stuff. “Lift yourself up a little, beautiful, I want to stay face to face. Is that ok?”

Danny rested his forehead against Blair’s. “It’s ok,” he murmured.

“Nothing ever happens that isn’t your choice.”

“I know.” He was radiating so much contentment and happiness that Blair could have begun to weep, knowing that the boy must have been starving for this kind of affection, the closeness, the intimacy.

“Stop that, Blair. Before now doesn’t matter.”

And he’d plucked that right out of Blair’s shielded mind. Danny was already powerful. By the time Blair was done teaching him, he was sure that Danny would be able to pick out one specific set of thoughts out of a stadium packed with people.

XXX

Jim shifted in his seat, doing another sensory sweep of the block. Nothing.

“Rafe, does it seem weird that there’s _nobody_ around? We haven’t seen a thing in almost two hours, not so much as a stray cat.”

“It _is_ strange, Jim, but what can we do? We have orders to watch that one tenement, it’s not like we can bail.”

“True.” But the tedium was making his skin itch.

XXX

Blair had a finger inside Danny, preparing him for entry while keeping constant eye contact. He could see and sense the blond’s emotions and hints of thoughts flicker past. It was unbelievingly arousing. Adding more fingers sped up those emotions in a dizzying array. When he hit Danny’s prostate, the boy let out a delicious little scream and he threw his body into thrusting back onto Blair’s fingers wildly.

“You like that?” Blair said throatily. “You look so wild, so desperate. You love fucking yourself on my fingers.”

“I love the dirty talk, too.”

Blair turned his head a little and spoke low and hot into Danny’s ear. “You’re so responsive, it’d like you live for this. Do you live for it now? A good, hard fucking? You’ve gotten a taste for being a hot little slut?”

“Yes…”

“You’re hot piece of ass, aren’t you?”

“So hot for you…”

“Hot to feel my cock in your ass, little slut? Do you want it?”

“Yes!”

“Want it now?”

“Right now, please, please Blair, please fuck me, fuck my ass, fuck me till I can taste you, fuck me blind…”

Blair grabbed Danny’s hips and yanked him down onto his cock, penetrating him fully at once. It was good thing that the apartment was sound-proof or Danny’s scream would have been heard in the Florida Keyes.

“Hold my wrists, trap them,” Danny requested. Blair encircled  one wrist in each hand and pinned them to the small of Danny’s back. A new response hit Blair’s empathy; a whisper of fear that turned to trust, and settled into sweet submission, acceptance of what was happening.

Blair was awed, and humbled. Less than twenty-four hours had passed in this fledgling commitment, and he was trusted _that_ much already. Their bodies locked to the motion of Blair thrusting into his willing “victim” at a punishing pace that was taken without complaint.

Oh, no, those cries, whimpers, grunts, gasps and screams were _not_ complaints.

XXX

Jim felt heat creeping up his body and cracked the window open further, letting more of the breeze in. His heart was racing, and he broke into a sweat. What the hell? Jim was confused as hell. What was happening to him?

The answer hit him like a smack to the back of head. Blair and Danny! He could feel it in his head, the roiling emotions that were surging between them… They were having sex and it was wreaking havoc on Jim’s inner balance.

Snow. Cold showers. Ice in the underwear. Mountains in the winter. Louie Anderson naked…

Jim set his mouth in a grim line, set on pushing thoughts of those two humping rabbits away from himself.

At least this shift wasn’t much longer.

XXX

Blair watched Danny sleep while he brushed and brushed and brushed the kid’s heavy fall of white-blond hair dry. The fact that Danny lay there, again dressed in one of Jim’s shirts, not stirring from the place he laid in slumber was a telling point. He was still not yet recovered from the binding.

The front door opened, and shut sharply. “Chief!” Jim barked.

Blair answered “Up here. Shh!”

The Sentinel climbed the stairs, and he looked pretty pissed. The anger evaporated when he saw them, Danny peacefully sleeping and Blair covered in a sheet of silky hair. He sat beside the Guide and swept him into a hug. Blair was very happy to hug him back, cuddling while Jim scented at his neck, inhaling deeply.

“Damn it, Chief, you two are gonna have to practice your mental shit. I was _miles_ away and I still got horny as all fucking hell when you two decided to knock boots.”

“Oh my god, really?” Blair squeaked, just barely restraining himself from laughing. It wasn’t funny. Well… yeah, it kinda was.

“Stop feeling so amused. At least the stakeout was silent.”

Blair leaned into Jim’s arms, luxuriating in the absolute safety and security his Sentinel made him feel. He could remember the time before he met Jim quite clearly. While an empath didn’t _have_ to bond, it was recommended that they do so. Thanks to the ability to sense how others felt, many empaths developed nervous tics, ended up feeling too much. A Sentinel’s bond helped block out the feedback.

Blair had scored high on the tests, higher than anyone on record. His Guide mentor had run into the test lab to grab him away from the scientists before they could get more than three vials for blood tests. Most of the scientists had only seemed disappointed or frustrated, but Blair had sensed two unique minds that burned in thwarted rage.

There were at least two people in the local test labs who hated not being allowed to experiment the way they wanted to.

“I kinda wonder if Danny was right about forced recruitment happening someday.” Blair felt he had to say something before his head exploded.

“It’d be a sad, sad day for democracy,” Jim grunted.

“I _am_ worried, Jim. We can’t hide this development forever, and what will happen when it gets out? Look at how much more in sync we are, and we haven’t been in work conditions yet! Danny is the key that unlocked hidden potential in all of us. What’s going to happen to Danny while they figure out how he fits in with us? What will happen to the others who have displayed strange results from empath testing? Will they be forced to go back for more tests, forced away from their lives if someone decides that it’s ‘for the greater good’ that telepaths be placed with Sentinel-Guide pairs? Will it make the system re-evaluate ‘the greater good’ for Guides and Sentinels too? What if this is a landslide we can’t stop?”

“ _Nothing_ will happen to our angel!” Jim growled, Blessed Protector mode kicking in. “I’ll kill anyone who tries to take him from us!”

“ _I’ll_ kill anyone who tries to lay a hand on me.” Jim and Blair pulled apart and Danny slid into the center of the hug. “I’m no shrinking violet.”

“Oh really?” Blair asked.

“Yeah really. Uncle Robby is a Marine, he taught me everything he knows about fighting and self-defense. He even taught me how to field-strip, clean and re-assemble pistols, rifles, et cetera. Not a useful skill in the long run, but it was fun when I was a kid.”

Jim rumbled a laugh. “I guess Marines have skills.”

“Mad skills, hot stuff, _mad_ skills.” Danny asserted, his body language warning the ex-Army Ranger to never disrespect his uncle.

“Mad skills.”

“As for those who may try to use my example to turn America in a Gestapo state, I already know how to handle it. Rapid dissemination of information. Make it known to all and the few lose any chance to sweep it under the rug. This Triad thing, I’ll take it and run with it.”

“You sure about that, beautiful?”

“Positive, sugar. I won’t let anyone use me as a science experiment, and I won’t let them exploit my fellow telepaths either. There always has to be a balance of power.” Danny’s voice changed timbre to a deeper and wiser tone, like he took on centuries of wisdom in a split second.

“Everything in the universe has a balance. Two opposing forces and a stabilizing influence. Yin and yang are separated and balanced by the line between them. Order and Chaos by Neutrality; there can’t be light without darkness and vice versa. The founding fathers of this country made the ultimate foil to government authority: they gave the people the right to vote, and the ability to remove destructive authority or force change to occur. Along the same vein, the Coalition lobbied for independent authority for Sentinels and Guides. The last piece of obtaining complete autonomy is to remove _all_ outside influence, which means getting rid of the test labs and hiring independent firms. Even better; give the testing to Sentinel scientists, which will guarantee _privacy_. No more blood tests, no more invasion of personal rights. The Sentinel and Guide community polices its own strictly.”

“Angel, you should run for office. I’d vote for you.”

“Bite your tongue, hot stuff.” Danny made a face. “I’ll stick my head into a cement mixer before I ever go into politics.”

Danny yawned loudly, mumbled “’scuse me” and fell asleep again, propped between Sentinel and Guide.

“What the hell? Blair, is he ok?” Jim anxiously checked Danny over with his senses.

“He’s fine, babe, it’s just that he’s very tired. All of the energy to forge the metaphysical changes came from him, and he unknowingly pushed himself harder when we made love again. If he’s willing for one more round later, you’ll have to go slow and easy on him. Long, slow and sweet.”

“Sounds fine to me, Chief. Hm. Still a few hours before we have to worry about dinner.”

“True, that.”

He and Jim curled up around Danny’s warm body and settled into a nap.

XXX

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Full speed ahead, Number One!

-Actually, I’ve heard that writing disclaimers does more harm than good, so I won’t.

Chapter 3- Taking Care of Business 

"OK, I'm ready for this." Danny straightened the collar of his deep green Oriental-style shirt, brushed imaginary lint off the black Oriental pants and gave his braid a flick.

Jim wasn't sure that this was a good idea, holding a press conference at Rainer. The lecture hall was too big to scan all at once, and it was packed full of reporters and curious students.

Blair, who wore one of his colorful shirts, black jeans and sandals took Jim's hand, grounding the anxiety and making it fall away. Blair and Danny agreed that Jim looked most intimidating all in black and wearing body armor, the word POLICE across the front of his bulletproof vest. Who was he to argue?

"Where's that extra security?" Jim muttered, checking his watch. Minutes to go before Danny took center stage.

"Extra security? You didn't mention that." Danny placed his hands on his hips and gave Jim a hard look.

"We need a show of solidarity and unity today, beautiful boy." Blair said, diffusing Danny's temper.

Jim felt them approach long before they were allowed into the back room behind the lecture hall. Three Sentinels with their Guides filed in, all of them wearing black. The Sentinel in the lead stopped and saluted Jim, a gesture that was appreciated but not required.

"Sentinel Prime Ellison, Sentinels David Jackson, Fred Kane and Sam Wells reporting for guard duty, sir!" The girl at his side was a tiny redhead whose aura was bright and fierce. "My Guide, Melanie Brooks."

Fred Kane had a black-haired Amazon by his side, the pair so similar in size that they probably scared small dogs and the occasional child. "My Guide, Katie Simms."

Sam Wells had a blond young man at his side whose whole body _and_ aura shrieked "Badass!" Jim knew a master martial artist when he saw one. "My Guide, Jake Hill."

"Thank you for coming, gentlemen, ladies." Jim inclined his head with his arms in the greeting pose. "My Guide, Blair Sandburg." They all knew who Blair was, but it was tradition to introduce the Guide to new people.

Danny put himself ahead of Blair and Jim, standing somewhat between them. "I might as well tell you now, so you show no surprise when we’re out there." He gave the six newcomers the traditional greeting pose. "I am Danny Deveraux, the Bard, the third of this Triumverate."

The three Pairs looked confused and flummoxed and generally unsettled. Danny gave them his very best smile, full of gentle humor and strong personality. "I don't bite, people."

Blair put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "The Bard is a complimentary third to a Sentinel/Guide pair, or so we've surmised so far. The forming of the Sentinel-Guide bond can take place anywhere between several months to several years. Danny bonded with us in _one night_. Both of us at the same time.”

Another pause for shock, then Wells spoke up. “That’s impossible.”

“Then call me impossible,” Danny shrugged. “The truth stands as it is. I _am_ bound to your Prime pair. My little gift is telepathy. The three of us can communicate with emotions and words, even over several miles. And today, we’re announcing it to the world at large before people start accusing Sentinels of keeping secrets again, and to spread the word worldwide that Bards exist so nobody can start kidnapping telepaths for experiments.”

Katie grinned broadly. “That’s _brilliant_. A good thumb in the eyes of the scientists who do the testing.”

“That’s one other thing we’ll be discussing.” Blair said.

They chatted quietly until given the signal that things were ready.

XXX

Blair was quite happy that three extra Sentinel-Guide pairs were present; it made Jim's inner Blessed Protector happy as well. Danny was feeling a bit edgy, but he had his nerves under iron control. Blair figured that his beautiful boy had many years of practice in staying calm, from all the pressure of being a kid genius.

The press buzzed as Jackson, Kane and Wells arranged themselves around the raised dais with their Guides beside them. Danny went next with Jim and Blair slightly behind and to either side. Blair felt Danny's nerves tremble, and extended a "hand" in emotional support, and that hand got grabbed in tight grip. Blair got a flash of thoughts: an angry room of reporters, police taking them to a science facility, being separated... _I just found you, I can't lose you!_ That was Danny's worst fear, being separated from Blair and Jim.

 _It won't happen, angel, I'll kill anyone who tries to touch you._ Jim's comforting words and presence chased the nerves away, and Danny stood up straight at the podium.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Danny Deveraux, from New Orleans. I recently moved to Cascade, and I have to say that this is the best place in the world to be!" Danny flashed a captivating smile, causing a round of quiet applause.

For the next few minutes Danny played the crowd like a violin and wrapped them around his fingers. Blair could only watch and feel glowing admiration of his little lover’s skill with people.

“And now, I have an important scientific discovery to share with you all, new information on Sentinels and Guides. My partners, Sentinel Prime Ellison and Guide Prime Sandburg, can verify my findings. There can be a _third_ added to a bonded pairing to make a triumvirate, a third person known as the Bard.”

XXX

A veritable shitstorm descended. Several times, Danny had to stop talking to wait for quiet; when it became obvious that he wouldn’t speak unless they shut up, the people settled as he posed the new thesis focus: Why did people forget the Bard, even the Sentinels and Guides? More shouting erupted as Blair calmly informed them that none of them would submit to blood testing unless it was done by a Sentinel doctor, and the days of outsiders doing any more tests were numbered.

It was hours before the storm abated, before the reporters and students cleared away and allowed the Sentinels and Guides to depart. The trio went home, and Danny walked into the apartment and fell to the couch.

Jim went to him at once. “All right there, sweetheart?” He was concerned; Danny was pale and tired. Jim kissed his forehead and held him.

“I’m fine, babe, just relieved that the first hurdles are behind us.”

“There are a lot more to go.” Blair said as he took out the various ingredients for chicken soup. “I anticipate several protests filed from some scientists that won’t be allowed to do our new blood work-ups, plus people who’ll think neither of us have the ability to stay objective on the topic…”

“Not to mention the fact that I have no intention of dropping my original thesis subject,” Danny elaborated. “So, Blair, since you’re the authority on Sentinels, the bulk of the work will be yours.”

“Sounds like you two will be busy,” Jim smiled at their enthusiasm. He could feel the waves of excitement pooling between them; the science thing really revved them up.

“Not too busy for you,” they said simultaneously.

Jim beamed. “Look at you guys, going all ‘twins.’ Probably won’t be long before you’re finishing each other’s sentences.”

“It’s also a behavior shared with married couples.” Blair said, mincing garlic. Jim made certain that his sense of smell was dialed down.

“We _are_ married,” Danny said softly. “More tightly than any vow or ceremony could ever make us.”

Jim wrapped his little love in his arms, resting his cheek on his head. “For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health…”

“Forsaking all others, to love, honor and cherish…” Danny murmured into Jim’s chest.

“As long as we live.” Blair finished. It wasn’t quite correctly quoted, but it was good enough. “You two go ahead. Fuck him silly, Jim. I’ll keep cooking; take my turn later.”

“I get you all to myself!” Jim perked up, grinning wickedly. He stood up with Danny wrapped around him like a monkey and went upstairs. At the top of the stairs, Danny kissed him and Jim returned the kiss deeply.

“Jim… want to try…”

“What? Anything.”

“This…”

Jim could feel it as Danny began: A feather-light touch to his thoughts, followed by a deeper feeling as their minds were drawn together. Danny stopped when their thoughts merged at the edges. They kissed again, gasping as the simple gesture intensified in feeling and intimacy. They’d touched minds before, but never this closely, with just the two of them. With Blair in the bed, it was easy; his empathy working all of it easily.

“Wow,” Jim whispered, savoring it. “That’s incredible, angel.”

“It’s not a Vulcan mind-meld or anything, but I thought a very light but firm connection would be cool. We should be able to do this without even thinking about it within three or four months.”

“Keep on surprising me, angel, I love it.”

Blair surprised them both by flooding them with love. The intimacy of it was so intense that Jim had to close his eyes. Big tough cops don’t cry.

He wasted no more time, stripping Danny naked, then himself. Laying Danny on his stomach, Jim dove in and started rimming his little love with long slow licks, eliciting those delicious sounds that he was already addicted to. Seriously, if Danny wanted to, he could earn several fortunes doing phone sex.

 _Won’t do this with anyone else,_ Danny ‘said.’ _Only you, only Blair. Thought, voice, body, mind, soul… It all belongs to you, Sentinel/Guide…_

Jim laughed wickedly and put his attention firmly upon the task of foreplay. It was going to be a looooooong night.

XXX

Author Note- I figured this would be a good place to close this short story. New concepts are introduced, the stage is set. In case no one caught it, this is an _AU_ , alternate universe. (No, really, sometimes people just don’t friggin’ get it and actually send insulting little notes about ‘this or that isn’t right.’ DUH! That’s what AU means.)

Yes, there’ll be more stories of the Triad. Yeah, they _do_ have to fornicate like bunnies. Most people don’t think it’s good Sentinel unless there’s porn in there somewhere. And it’s fun to write. Admit it, you like it, or you’d be over at that OTHER fanfic site reading stuff that’s mostly rated T or K and admins are cracking down on anything remotely erotic. That’s why AO3 was made! :)


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